Medicare: Impact of Changing Transportation Policy for Portable Equipment Is Uncertain
The Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA)--the agency that administers the Medicare program--reduced payments to certain providers who perform electrocardiogram (EKG) and ultrasound examinations in nursing homes and beneficiaries' residences. In the past, Medicare had permitted these providers of these portable diagnostic tests to receive, in addition to the fee for performing the test, a separate payment for transporting the necessary equipment. However, HCFA eliminated separate transportation payments for ultrasound services effective January 1, 1996. HCFA eliminated separate transportation payments for EKG services effective January 1, 1997, but these payments were temporarily restored by the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 (BBA).
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Corporate Authors:
U.S. General Accounting Office
441 G Street, NW
Washington, DC United States 20548 - Publication Date: 1998-5
Language
- English
Media Info
- Media Type: Web
- Features: Appendices; Figures; Maps; Tables;
- Pagination: 26p
Subject/Index Terms
- TRT Terms: Health care; Health care services; Medical equipment; Medical services; Policy making; Policy, legislation and regulation; Portable equipment
- Identifier Terms: Medicare
- Uncontrolled Terms: Ultrasound tests
- Subject Areas: Administration and Management; Highways; Policy; Safety and Human Factors; I10: Economics and Administration;
Filing Info
- Accession Number: 01104391
- Record Type: Publication
- Report/Paper Numbers: GAO-HEHS-98-82
- Files: NTL, TRIS
- Created Date: Jul 17 2008 9:24AM